Can we just talk about the Gu Yizhi and An Ruoyan moment for a second? The author sets it up so perfectly. An Ruoyan has this whole internal monologue about how in her previous life she never dated and her biggest hobby was looking at handsome guys, and then she sees Gu Yizhi and immediately notices he's looking back at her. She blushes all the way to the village. Deng Xiuli has to point it out because obviously. But the peak is when she accidentally says out loud "Handsome boys should protect themselves even more!" after he tells her girls should protect themselves. She just blurts it and then runs away. And Gu Yizhi's ears turn red because he's completely misreading it as a compliment directed at him. The tension is so good. It's not over-the-top romantic drama, it's this quiet, awkward, flustered thing that feels way more real. I love when authors do this—where the characters are clearly into each other but neither will admit it out loud. The fact that she's still processing her feelings about Zhou Shuchen while this new attraction is building makes it even more interesting. She's not just switching hearts instantly, she's complicated and that's what makes it work.
Okay, let me just sit with this for a second. Qin Buwen walks into an auction and what does she find? Her own jade thumb ring, with a trace of her blood still in it, being sold to the highest bidder. Who does that? Who takes a dead person's keepsake and puts it on a stage like it's some kind of novelty item? I was actually shaking reading that part. But the plot doesn't stop there. Yan Tang's whole strategy with Li Yunmu is so brilliantly layered. On the surface, he's just being a jerk at an auction, raising prices by one cash each time to provoke Li Yunmu. But Qin Buwen immediately sees the real game: Ji Junjiao is using Yan Tang to test whether Li Yunmu's account books are real. If Li Yunmu bids beyond his means, he's caught. That's three layers of manipulation happening simultaneously and I love it. Then Ji Junjiao drops a ten million cash bid and the entire room loses its mind. Yan Tang, who was already at fifty million, doesn't even flinch. He just keeps going. And then that line—"That... belongs to me." Whispered so quietly only Qin Buwen could hear it. The plot keeps pivoting and I couldn't look away.
I need to talk about the granary scene because it is THE most vivid worldbuilding moment in this entire batch. You have Cheng Youyou descending this winding, pitch-black tunnel into the earth, getting colder and colder, and then — BAM — a full-scale slaughterhouse opens up before her. Male beastfolk moving in perfect sync, dragging a wild ox, skinning it, tossing organs and bones into this DEEP pit that goes completely silent at the bottom. No sound. Just swallowed whole by darkness. And Cheng Youyou's reaction? Her face visibly PAINED. Those discarded parts aren't inedible! Tripe hotpot, braised offal, beef bone soup — all of it just thrown into a bottomless pit. In the apocalypse, wasting food like this would get you beaten senseless. That comparison alone tells you so much about this woman's background and values. The worldbuilding details just keep coming. The extreme temperature swings — scorching days, freezing nights — which is WHY the granary needs to be underground. Coarse salt being so precious that the Sea Beast Tribe controls it and demands 30% more this year. Beastfolk having sensitive noses so they never eat offal. The evodia tree she transplanted actually fruiting. Nan bamboo and suocao grass growing near Ji Xuan's cave. Every detail feels functional and lived-in, not just decorative. This world has rules, scarcity, and consequences. I could practically smell that blood-and-meat stench hanging in the granary air.
There's a lot going on beneath the surface of these chapters, and I want to talk about the symbols the author keeps dropping on us like they're nothing. First: the ash. It's such a simple, mundane detail, but it carries so much weight. Ash represents the residue of someone else's life—Xu Jingchu's exercises, her drawer, her space—transferred onto Qin Yajuan's clothes. It's physical proof of her presence in a place she shouldn't have been. But it's also symbolic of something bigger: the idea that your actions leave traces, that you can't move through the world without being marked by what you do. Qin Yajuan can deny everything, but the ash doesn't lie. Then there's the peanuts. Qin Yajuan secretly boiling peanuts at the Lin household to bribe her friends—it's such a small thing, but it says everything about her character. She's hoarding resources, performing generosity she can't afford, building alliances on borrowed capital. The peanuts are a metaphor for her entire situation: she's trying to make something out of nothing, and it's never going to be enough. The money and ration tickets themselves are symbols of survival in this era. They're not just plot devices—they represent the difference between eating and starving, between having a future and being stuck. Qin Yajuan steals them because she wants the paper mill job, which represents upward mobility. But she's willing to destroy someone else's chance to get it. That's the moral question the story keeps asking: what are you willing to sacrifice for progress? Xu Jingchu's choice to give up the job is also significant. "I don't want the paper mill job. I'm giving it to you, so you don't have to frame me." She's not being naive—she's being strategic. She knows the job isn't worth the conflict, and she's positioning herself for something better. But it's also a moral statement: she won't play the same game. The bell-bottom gang is another symbol—of the changing times, of youth rebellion, of the cultural shifts happening in the background. Qin Yajuan tries to associate with them, but they're only loyal as long as she has something to offer. They represent the illusion of belonging. And finally, the Lin household itself. It's a microcosm of Chinese society—hierarchical, gossip-prone, but also capable of genuine warmth. The Lins are good people who make mistakes (suspecting Jingchu initially), but they're also capable of growth. The household is where Xu Jingchu rebuilds her life, and that's not accidental.
There's this one line where He Yuan describes his feelings as 'invisible vines—clingy and persistent. Every time he paid attention to her unconsciously, another vine would wrap itself around his heart.' And I just... what. What is this man doing to me. This is the most romantic thing I have ever read and it's happening in a corporate romance novel about a CEO and his secretary. But what I love most about the emotional arc here is how slow and real it feels. He Yuan isn't some guy who's been pining for years. This is genuinely new—love at first sight, sure, but he's also rationalizing it. He tells himself it's just attraction based on looks, that true love needs time to develop. He's trying to be logical about something that is completely illogical. And that tension between his head and his heart is where all the emotional weight lives. Lin Yue's emotional state is equally interesting. She's lonely—not in a desperate way, but in that quiet, everyday way that comes from being single for so long in a big city. When she says 'I just want someone to keep me company,' it's not a plea, it's just a fact she's accepted. And then this incredibly attractive, competent man starts noticing her, protecting her, bending down to her level without even thinking about it. The emotional stakes are already so high and neither of them knows it yet. The lunch scene is where it all comes together for me. He Yuan telling her 'you are my secretary' in that firm but gentle way, the three seconds of eye contact where they both look away at the same time, Lin Yue thinking 'Boss, believe me, this is really how I feel' while He Yuan is thinking 'that innocent look...'—this is peak romantic tension. They're both feeling something but neither can say it out loud. And the perfume moment! He Yuan smells something on her and asks about it, and she says no because of work protocol, and then he's just standing there processing that she doesn't wear perfume for him. That's the kind of detail that makes your heart ache in the best way.
The heat in this book is UNRELenting. September, still summer, cicadas screaming, sunlight patchy and golden—it's like the weather itself is sweating along with the tension. And then there's this one line that I keep coming back to: "Even today, the wind seemed to carry the sweet and sour scent of lemons." After Jiang Ran finishes beating up He Zizhou and turns around to find Xia Chu gone, that's what's left. Not her face, not her words, but a smell. That's such a specific, literary choice. The classroom scenes are also vividly rendered. You can practically hear the chaos—the girls pressing their faces to the windows after class just to catch a glimpse of Jiang Ran, the boys roughhousing in the corridors, Lin Yuqing's loud teasing. Teacher Li's entrance silencing the room shows exactly what kind of class this is: delinquents, heavy makeup, quick fists. It's a world that feels lived-in, not just a backdrop for romance. And the pool hall! "Jijia"—the largest and most luxurious one near school. Hong Yue walking in with her JK uniform and Mary Jane heels, looking like she stepped out of a completely different social stratum. The contrast between the smoky, loud classroom and the dim, expensive pool hall creates this sense that these kids move between worlds. Rich kids playing at being rebels, regular kids trying not to get noticed. Xia Chu occupies both spaces awkwardly, which is kind of perfect for a transfer student who doesn't quite fit anywhere yet. The sunset through the dense leaves, the gold light on Xia Chu's hair—Jiang Ran watching her disappear around the corner and then looking away. That visual alone could be a film frame. The author really knows how to paint with light.
Let me just sit with this for a second. Pei Mu brings Zhong Yizhu a paper-wrapped bundle containing the teeth of the thug who bullied him. Teeth. Not a weapon, not a threat—teeth. It's such a specific, almost ritualistic choice. Teeth are what you chew with, what you speak with, what makes you look like yourself when you smile. Taking someone's teeth is a way of removing their ability to bite, to speak lies, to consume. And Zhong Yizhu's first reaction is to pull his hands behind his back and reject it. He's so broken that even help feels foreign, almost threatening. But then he accepts it anyway. The teeth become this weird symbol of protection that he doesn't know how to receive. And then there's the fire. Pei Mu burning the matchmaking booklet. The list of eligible candidates—painstakingly compiled, full of other options, other paths—going up in flames. He doesn't need anyone else. And the moon. He stands under the bright moonlight, curing animal hides, then burning the booklet, then looking up at the moon when it reaches its peak. The moon is this constant witness throughout the chapter. It's cold and distant but also beautiful and steady. Zhong Yizhu sees the 'boundless blue sky' in the morning and realizes he's nervous for the first time in days. The sky and the moon and the fire—all of these natural elements seem to be tracking his emotional state. When he's trapped, the world feels small and enclosed. When he starts to breathe again, the sky opens up. It's subtle but it's there if you pay attention.
Unashamed author here :)Writing a review for your own book is not easy, so if you have any questions about the novel, you can leave them in the comments!- "First of all, what is this book about?" It's about a guy named Kaido who accidentally went back in time to his previous self-body. Trying to correct and change things that once happened from occurring again from going the way it did before- "What type of guy is Kaido?" He is a cynical, easily angry man with a overall hatred for the world on life. But! He has a sense of humor and a strong desire to not only survive but also thrive in this world. You'll like him, I promise.- "Will he be overpowered?" No. He will certainly become powerful, but not powerful enough kill and clear every obstacle in his way like a God or something.- "Will there be romance?" Yes, but a slow one.-When I mean romance I'm not saying Harem please note.- "How often are you updating?" Currently, I'm dedicated to writing one/two chapter every day. The amount may increase, it depends on a lot of factors. Like my schooling and Work- And, finally... "Aren't you too full of yourself? You rated your book almost five stars!" What can I say, It's the best book have ever written, "ooh wait it's my only book here" Yes, it's my only book and still my best one. If you don't believe me do well to check it out.Mentor ; Guilitythree.
Very fun read could do with some more substance, sometimes the story fast tracks events like his business which I thick could have more detail,Good stuff Keep it going! ???
Im a little confused, is this a continuation of terra nova online or something else? I have only read guildmaster and then like a little over half of vampire novel. So can I read this without missing out or feeling like I am missing something?
Shameful Author Review I want to thank anyone for reading and I hope you enjoy this bookIf you have any advice I'll take it . So yes please comment and vote
i dont think i haven't read something like this before . but it's good as long as you understand the story your good to go. keep it up